Houston's 41 most fascinating people

Who cares who fascinates Barbara Walters? We've got some of the most interesting people in America right here in Houston.

By Compiled by Dana Guthrie

on December 6, 2012 1:24 PM

Photo: Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle

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Houston's Most Fascinating People of 2012

Who will make our list for 2013? Click through the slideshow for inspiration from last year's big names, and enter your own nominees in the form below.

This photo: Young Houston entrepreneurs Bobby Heugel and Kevin Floyd
have been best friends since high school. Their group, known as “The Anvil Guys,” is
creatingan “ecosystem” of artisan bars and restaurants. The group, led
by Heugel, is involved in Houston
spots such as The Hay Merchant and the nonprofit Original Okra Charity Saloon.

Fort
Bend twins Aaron
and Andrew Harrison are among the top 5 basketball recruits in the
country and future NBA stars. The Travis High School students made national headlines and were filmed for
ESPN in October when they announced they will play for the University of Kentucky,
the defending national champion.

Fort Bend twins Aaron and Andrew Harrison are among the top 5 basketball recruits in the country and future NBA stars. The Travis High School students made national headlines and were filmed for ESPN in

Tony Diaz is a Houston
Community College professor and the
leader of the “Librotraficantes,” who
have been smuggling Hispanic literature into Arizona. The grass-roots
campaign is in protest of Tucson
schools’ dismantling of a popular Mexican-American studies program and a ban on
Hispanic history books.

Houston socialite Erica Rose is most famous for her reality TV role on "The Bachelor: Rome," in which she was portrayed as a spoiled princess. She was then forced to earn her own keep on the VH1 show "You're Cut Off," before returning to Houston to become a lawyer. Her website states she'd like to star in her own court show as a "younger, hotter Judge Judy." less

Houston socialite Erica Rose is most famous for her reality TV role on "The Bachelor: Rome," in which she was portrayed as a spoiled princess. She was then forced to earn her own keep on the VH1 show "You're ... more

Photo: Dave Rossman

Houston socialite Erica Rose is most famous for her reality TV role... Photo-3314194.53383 - Houston Chronicle

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Hugo Ortega, executive chef of Hugo's restaurant, moved to the U.S in 1984 with no prospects and started out as a dishwasher in downtown Houston. He later returned to the food stalls, carts and roaming vendors of his native Mexico to research his first street-food inspired cookbook, which was released this year. He was also a nominee for the James Beard Foundation's 2012 Best Chef Southwest. less

Hugo Ortega, executive chef of Hugo's restaurant, moved to the U.S in 1984 with no prospects and started out as a dishwasher in downtown Houston. He later returned to the food stalls, carts and roaming vendors ... more

Rice
University historian Dr.
Melissa Kean braves
the cobwebbed recesses of the university to find hidden treasures, such
as the first school president’s black top hat and the antiquated remains of an early
computer. For Kean, every day is a treasure hunt.

Baylor’s talented center, Brittney Griner, who attended Nimitz High School
in Houston, was
named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four in women’s college
basketball in 2012. She’s
favored as the No. 1 pick in the 2013 WNBA draft, in which the Phoenix
Mercury have first pick.

Omar Afra, Fitzgerald's owner and managing editor of Free Press Houston, is transforming the city's music scene. He brought the legendary concert venue back from the brink of obscurity, created Free Press Summerfest and grew it into one of Houston's most successful music events. less

Omar Afra, Fitzgerald's owner and managing editor of Free Press Houston, is transforming the city's music scene. He brought the legendary concert venue back from the brink of obscurity, created Free Press ... more

River Oaks couple Oscar and Lynn Wyatt know just about
everyone. Their home, nicknamed the “Wyatt Hyatt” has
hosted England’s
Princess Margaret, Elton John, Placido Domingo and Mick Jagger, to name a few.
Lynn Wyatt has been on the exclusive
guest list for Vanity Fair’s Oscar party and interviewed George Clooney
in Houston. It
hasn’t been all fun and games, however. In 2007, Oscar Wyatt pleaded
guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and was
sentenced to one year behind bars.

Channel 13's Gina Gaston Elie was honored in February as one of the Houston Chronicle's best-dressed people of 2012. The mom of triplets is a Houston news mainstay, joining KTRK in 1992 and returning in 2001 after a brief stint with MSNBC. ( Nick de la Torre / Houston Chronicle )

Channel 13's Gina Gaston Elie was honored in February as one of the Houston Chronicle's best-dressed people of 2012. The mom of triplets is a Houston news mainstay, joining KTRK in 1992 and returning in 2001

The accolades keep piling up for Underbelly chef Chris
Shepherd. Esquire named his place one of the best new restaurants of 2012, and
he was named restaurateur of the year at the 2012 Houston Culinary Awards. If
you haven’t been on Shepherd’s “epic
culinary journey,” you’re missing out.

The accolades keep piling up for Underbelly chef Chris Shepherd. Esquire named his place one of the best new restaurants of 2012, and he was named restaurateur of the year at the 2012 Houston Culinary Awards.

Cut by the Rockets on Christmas Eve, Jeremy Lin went from
sleeping on a teammate’s couch to playing some of the best ball in NBA history.
Linsanity parlayed his historic February run with the Knicks to a hefty
contract with the Rockets in July.

Cut by the Rockets on Christmas Eve, Jeremy Lin went from sleeping on a teammate’s couch to playing some of the best ball in NBA history. Linsanity parlayed his historic February run with the Knicks to a

Brene Brown, a local author and social work research professor at the University of Houston, has
gained national attention for her books and TED talks about shame and
vulnerability. She says people must learn to be vulnerable to get the most out
of life.

Brene Brown, a local author and social work research professor at the University of Houston, has gained national attention for her books and TED talks about shame and vulnerability. She says people must learn

Brene Brown, a local author and social work research professor at... Photo-3441260.53383 - Houston Chronicle

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Mike Garver, also known as the “Trashman of Buffalo Bayou,” has
played a huge role in transforming the 9-mile waterway into one of the
Top 10 Public Spaces in America.
The 75-year-old chairman emeritus of the Buffalo Bayou Partnership has been
campaigning for a statewide bill that would pay people to recycle beverage
containers.

Mike Garver, also known as the “Trashman of Buffalo Bayou,” has played a huge role in transforming the 9-mile waterway into one of the Top 10 Public Spaces in America. The 75-year-old chairman emeritus

Mike Garver, also known as the “Trashman of Buffalo Bayou,”... Photo-3620677.53383 - Houston Chronicle

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Arian Foster’s not just one of the best running backs in the
NFL; he’s also kind of a Renaissance man. A philosophy major and poet, Foster
also made headlines in July when he declared that he’d become a vegan. He clarified
in November that he still eats meat from time to time. “I’m not in a
cult,” he said of his meat-eating. “Nothing’s going to happen to me. I just
wanted a piece of chicken.”

Arian Foster’s not just one of the best running backs in the NFL; he’s also kind of a Renaissance man. A philosophy major and poet, Foster also made headlines in July when he declared that he’d become a

Arian Foster’s not just one of the best running backs in the... Photo-3831088.53383 - Houston Chronicle

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Houston rapper and “street
king” Trae tha Truth” calls
himself the “voice of Houston.”
He’s also helped motivate at-risk youths and fed Houston’s homeless. The artist was
shot June 20 after he performed at a club in southwest Houston, in what police
say was a gang violence incident.

Billionaire oilman, real estate developer and philanthropist
George Mitchell is responsible for much of what goes on in the Houston area. He developed The Woodlands and
the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. His company is credited with being the
first to use hydraulic fracturing to unleash shale gas in the Barnett Shale in
north Texas, which created the new wave of oil
and gas drilling in the United
States and started talk of energy
independence. Plus, he’s given more than $95 million to Texas A&M, making
him the most generous donor in the school’s history. He’s given to a
host of other institutions too, including medical institutions in
support of Alzheimer’s research in honor of his late wife, Cynthia Woods
Mitchell, who died of the disease.

Billionaire oilman, real estate developer and philanthropist George Mitchell is responsible for much of what goes on in the Houston area. He developed The Woodlands and the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion.

University
of Houston cornerback
D.J. Hayden stunned doctors and the rest of the community Nov. 7 when he suffered
a freak injury during practice that should have killed him: a tear in
the inferior vena cava, the large vein that carries blood from the lower body
to the heart. He survived the injury, caused by a collision with another
player, and was
released from the hospital on Nov. 12.

Chris Frankel, former bartender at Anvil Bar & Refuge,
now crafts inventive liquor-free “cocktails” using
his own aromatized wines (wines infused with botanical ingredients) at
Underbelly, where only wine and beer is served.

Landry’s owner Tilman Fertitta made
his debut on Forbes’ World’s Billionaires List in 2012. The creator of
the Kemah Boardwalk also opened
a second major attraction, Galveston’s
Pleasure Pier, in May. He also teamed
up with Eva Longoria for a female oriented nightlife concept in Las Vegas. It’s probably
safe to say he’s had a big year.

You know you’re a celebrity when people know you by just your
first name. Sought-after hairstylist Ceron, owner of Ceron salon, is one of
those people.

You know you’re a celebrity when people know you by just your first name. Sought-after hairstylist Ceron, owner of Ceron salon, is one of those people.

Photo: Gary Fountain

You know you’re a celebrity when people know you by just your... Photo-3599196.53383 - Houston Chronicle

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Art collector Judy Nyquist (right) is known for her support of art
education and for raising funds for emerging artists. She’s a supporter of the Contemporary Arts Museum,
the Glassell School of Art, Hope Stone, Inc. and the Houston Arts Alliance, to
name a few.

Art collector Judy Nyquist (right) is known for her support of art education and for raising funds for emerging artists. She’s a supporter of the Contemporary Arts Museum, the Glassell School of Art, Hope

Art collector Judy Nyquist (right) is known for her support of art... Photo-1536077.53383 - Houston Chronicle

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Digital filmmaker Kelly Sears finds materials in Houston thrift stores and used bookshops for her films. “All
of the work I do is based on collected media artifacts,” she said in an
interview with 29-95.com. “My films always jump off of some visual image that
will anchor a larger story that I build up around it.”

John Guess, Jr., likes
to make statements at the Houston Museum of African American Culture,
of which he is the founder. “The kids call me Nino Brown (a reference to Wesley
Snipes’ tough character in the film ‘New Jack City.’)," he said in an interview with The Chronicle. "They say, ‘John is
gansta.’”

John Guess, Jr., likes to make statements at the Houston Museum of African American Culture, of which he is the founder. “The kids call me Nino Brown (a reference to Wesley Snipes’ tough character in the

John Guess, Jr., likes
to make statements at the Houston... Photo-2731104.53383 - Houston Chronicle

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Fashion and fabric designer Balushka, who is from Ukraine, specializes in floral flourishes and pieces made of organic bamboo. This spirited fashion and fabric designer turns heads with pieces made of organic bamboo. You can find her work at
BHLDN, a bohemian and vintage wedding shop, where she's a décor stylist. less

Fashion and fabric designer Balushka, who is from Ukraine, specializes in floral flourishes and pieces made of organic bamboo. This spirited fashion and fabric designer turns heads with pieces made of organic ... more

Photo: Balushka

Fashion and fabric designer Balushka, who is from Ukraine,... Photo-3842046.53383 - Houston Chronicle

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Roger Clemens had quite a summer. In June, he was acquitted
of all charges of lying to Congress about using performance enhancing drugs. By
August, the 50-year-old former major league star was back on mound, pitching
well for the independent league Sugar Land Skeeters and teasing a return to the
big leagues.

Roger Clemens had quite a summer. In June, he was acquitted of all charges of lying to Congress about using performance enhancing drugs. By August, the 50-year-old former major league star was back on mound,

Roger Clemens had quite a summer. In June, he was acquitted
of... Photo-3492858.53383 - Houston Chronicle

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Justin Cronin, a distinguished faculty fellow at Rice University,
released “Twelve,” the second book in his post-apocalyptic trilogy, in October.
Cronin
said he used many aspects of Houston,
from the “incomprehensible” destruction of his neighbor’s “perfectly livable”
house, to the city’s “infectious love of risk,” as inspiration for his bestselling
tales.

Joanne Herring is a woman who
gets what she wants. The TV personality teamed with Texas Congressman
Charlie Wilson to send weapons to rebels in Soviet-occupied Afghanistan.
She then insisted on cutting out all of the swearing in the film written about
her, “Charlie Wilson’s War,” in which she was played by Julia Roberts. She was
also widely known for her fabulous parties, and built a disco room in her son’s
bedroom just to entertain the king of Sweden. Now, she’s started a “peace offensive” in Afghanistan, seeking to provide
villages with food, water, training and medical care.

Joanne Herring is a woman who gets what she wants. The TV personality teamed with Texas Congressman Charlie Wilson to send weapons to rebels in Soviet-occupied Afghanistan. She then insisted on cutting out

Joanne Herring is a woman who
gets what she wants . The TV... Photo-3841041.53383 - Houston Chronicle

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Fashion designer Chloe Dao rose to fame when she won the second season of the fashion reality show "Project Runway." Since then, things have only gotten better for Dao, who operates a boutique on Kirby Drive. She also served on the fashion advisory boards at Houston Community College and The Art Institute. less

Fashion designer Chloe Dao rose to fame when she won the second season of the fashion reality show "Project Runway." Since then, things have only gotten better for Dao, who operates a boutique on Kirby Drive. ... more

Fashion designer Chloe Dao rose to fame when she won the second... Photo-3742775.53383 - Houston Chronicle

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Alex Lopez Negrete and his wife, Cathy Lopez, own Lopez Negrete Advertising Agency, an award-winning niche agency that specializes in Hispanic advertising & marketing with national clients such as Bank of America, Walmart and Goya. The agency is a five-time honoree on the Inc. 500/5000 list of fastest-growing private companies. less

Alex Lopez Negrete and his wife, Cathy Lopez, own Lopez Negrete Advertising Agency, an award-winning niche agency that specializes in Hispanic advertising & marketing with national clients such as Bank of ... more

Masala Radio host and comedian Sunil Thakkar is very active in Houston's Indian and Hindu community and hosted this year's largest Houston Diwali festival at Constellation Field. He also produced a 2003 film, "Dude, Where's the Party?" starring Kal Penn about the Indian American experience. (Melissa Phillip/Chronicle) less

Masala Radio host and comedian Sunil Thakkar is very active in Houston's Indian and Hindu community and hosted this year's largest Houston Diwali festival at Constellation Field. He also produced a 2003 film, ... more